Fix & Flippers: Why You Don’t Depreciate Your Flip

I had a conversation recently with a fix-and-flip investor who asked me a really common question:

It’s a fair question — but here’s the key distinction a lot of new flippers miss

As a fix & flipper, you don’t depreciate the property.

When you’re flipping, the property is treated as inventory, not a rental.
That means the purchase price, rehab costs, and holding costs generally roll into cost of goods sold (COGS) when you calculate your gain at sale.

No depreciation schedule.
No annual write-offs like a rental.

Where things go sideways is when flippers track their books like landlords.
That usually leads to confusion — and sometimes paying more tax than necessary because the numbers aren’t lined up correctly.

If you’re new to flipping, getting your bookkeeping set up the right way early makes everything easier:
cleaner numbers, clearer profit, and fewer surprises at tax time.

For flippers here — did you assume depreciation applied to flips when you first started?